In the related art, as an example of an operation input device for remotely controlling a slave arm having joints, there is a known medical system equipped with a master arm having a joint configuration with a structure similar to that of a joint configuration of a slave arm (for example, see Patent Literatures 1 and 2). With such a system, since the slave arm can be made to reproduce a movement corresponding to the movement of the master arm, an operator can intuitively manipulate the slave arm while directly recognizing the shape and movement of the slave arm from the shape and movement of the master arm.
Another known medical system includes a single slave arm and multiple types of distal-end treatment sections that are attachable to the arm. In such a medical system, an operable section can be replaced according to the type of distal-end treatment section to be used (for example, see Patent Literature 3).
The distal end of a slave arm is provided with a distal-end treatment section, such as forceps, scissors, or a hook electrode. In an actual surgical operation, different types of slave arms equipped with distal-end treatment sections for different purposes are often used in an interchanging manner. In addition to different types of distal-end treatment sections, it is also desirable to use multiple types of slave arms with different joint configurations, that is, different operating ranges and different degrees of freedom of motion. In Patent Literatures 1 and 2, the joint configuration of the master arm and the joint configuration of the slave arm have a one-to-one correspondence relationship.
With regard to Patent Literature 3, multiple types of distal-end treatment sections can be used in an interchanging manner. However, it is necessary to prepare operable sections equal in number to the number of types of distal-end treatment sections, and an operable section has to be replaced every time a distal-end treatment section is replaced. Furthermore, in Patent Literature 3, the shape of a distal-end treatment section and the shape of a grip section at the master side are simply matched, and the use of slave arms having different joint configurations is not taken into account.